Educating rural Kenyan children via MP3 technology

Lifeline Energy and our local Kenyan partner, Horn of Africa Development Initiative (HODI), also a GlobalGiving-vetted NGO, are working together to formally launch this initiative in the next few months. Audio Learning in Kenya (ALIK) will reintroduce audio-based learning opportunities via our Lifeplayer MP3s for under-resourced schools in Kenya’s arid north in Marsabit County.

Nearly 90% of the county’s population is nomadic or pastoral, which creates massive challenges for education delivery. Only an estimated 10% of women are literate, while literacy is higher, yet still low for men, at around 60%. Formal schooling came late to this part of Kenya.

There are only 123 public primary schools and 16 secondary schools in the entire County, which is more than twice the size of Maryland. Maryland’s population is huge at 6 million in comparison to Marsabit’s 300,000 inhabitants. However, the average class size in primary school is 54 pupils in Marsabit County, where as its just 22 in Maryland.

Schools are woefully under-resourced, lacking classrooms, equipment, books, supplies, water, toilets, and properly qualified teachers, especially in science, mathematics and English.  Teaching at most schools would be considered a hardship post; the vast majority of teachers are men. Many children have to walk long distances to schools; some up to 10 kilometers each way. Many children don’t even attend school as there are none anywhere near their village or compound.

These are only some of the reasons why the ALIK initiative is so urgently needed. The onus is on HODI and Lifeline, in collaboration with the local and national Ministry of Education to identify the right content for young learners, and also for teachers. There are six tribal languages common in this part of Kenya, on top of the national languages of Swahili and English. Pre-school and early grades are conducted in local languages and there is severe shortage of local language teachers. Audio school lessons which were once broadcast on radio, already exist in the Ministry of Education.

Our aim is to implement ALIK in the near future, starting that are most in need and have the fewest teachers.  Lifeline believes so strongly in the importance of this project, it will soon be opening an office in Nairobi.